Changes to Environment Agency’s abstraction charges to safeguard water supplies for people and wildlife
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New charging framework to protect the environment and England’s long-term water supply
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It will provide a fairer system where people pay for the services they receive and those abstracting a lot of water will pay more
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The funding is needed to secure sustainable water resources for the environment, business, and society, now and into the future
The new rules have been approved by government and published in the Environment Agency’s response to the review of water resources abstraction charges and the outcome of its consultation.
The Environment Agency regulates the abstraction and impoundment of water, working with water companies, farmers, industry, businesses and others to protect access to water and make sure that the water in England is abstracted sustainably.
England is facing increased pressure on its water resources due to population growth and climate change. Without action, by 2050 significant water shortages in parts of the country have been predicted and some rivers could have between 50 and 80 percent less water during the summer. Based on recent projections, more than 3.4 billion additional litres per day will be needed in England by then, an increase of 23% on today’s supplies.
The Water Resources Review of Charges aims to create a fairer system where people pay for the services they receive and those abstracting a lot of water, such as water companies, will pay more, supporting behavioural change to use water more economically.
The new charges – which have not changed for the past 10 years –will be based on:
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the volume of water taken from the environment
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where the water is taken from
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how much of that water is returned to the environment
The new charging framework will secure £25 million in additional income each year to protect access to water and meet environmental challenges, including to help protect England’s sensitive habitats, such as chalk streams.
The increase in funding from charges will enable further investment by the Environment Agency in:
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protecting future supplies through maintaining and operating infrastructure, including water transfer schemes, gauging stations, weirs and sluices
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modernising the water abstraction licensing system through digital transformation
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protecting and enhancing the environment through a more sustainable approach to water abstraction with increased emphasis on rare and sensitive habitats, such as England’s unique chalk streams
Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:
The biggest long-term threat to the environment, our economy and our lifestyle is water quantity – simply having enough for people and wildlife.
In the face of the climate emergency, population growth and rising demand for water, we need to ensure that all those who use water, and rely on it for their business, can continue to do so now and into the future, as well as better protecting our rivers and aquifers.
As part of this we need a system that allows us to charge fully and fairly for the services we provide to preserve water supplies and help businesses meet their needs in a sustainable way that protects the environment.
Search for new HS2 Ltd Chair is relaunched to help drive transformation and level up the country
- the search for a Chair to drive forward Europe’s largest infrastructure project is relaunched
- the criteria for the role have been updated to appeal to a wider set of candidates able to take on the most important job in UK transport
- Sir Jon Thompson will take on an expanded role as Deputy Chair overseeing one of the UK’s most critical and transformational programmes
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has today (9 March 2022) relaunched his search for a new HS2 Chair, to lead the way in driving forward Europe’s largest infrastructure project.
This is one of the most important transport roles in the United Kingdom with HS2 sitting at the heart of the government’s once-in-a-lifetime plans to improve transport connectivity across the North of England and the Midlands and level up the nation.
To reflect this, criteria for the Chair role have been updated to attract leaders from a wider field of sectors and backgrounds ready to take on the challenge of leading this transformational project. All candidates will be asked to demonstrate their experience in providing world-class strategic leadership in complex settings.
The new Chair will build on the work already undertaken by HS2 Ltd and former Chair Allan Cook CBE – which, one year on from the Prime Minister marking the start of construction, is supporting over 20,000 jobs and more than 600 apprenticeships.
HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said:
The Chair of HS2 Ltd is one of the most important transport jobs in the UK sitting at the helm of a project that will deliver on the government’s promises to boost connectivity, level up communities across the North and Midlands and help the nation build back better.
We’ve relaunched our search with new criteria designed to ensure we recruit the best and brightest candidate, ready to take on this challenge and drive forward transformation across the nation.”
This comes as the Secretary of State for Transport appoints Sir Jon Thompson to become Deputy Chair of HS2 Ltd.
Sir Jon Thompson said:
This is a once in a generation programme, which will transform transport and connectivity in the UK and I am thrilled to take on an expanded role. Like the rest of the board, I am passionate about ensuring HS2 unlocks economic growth and jobs. As Deputy Chair, I will support the company to deliver the programme on time and on budget.
This role will include chairing HS2 Ltd until a permanent replacement is found and will be an extension of the duties Sir Jon has held as a Non-Executive Director since April 2021.
Sir Jon will support the HS2 Minister and future Chair to ensure HS2 is delivered on time and in budget whilst also working with the rest of the board and the executive to provide oversight, leadership and accountability for the HS2 programme.
Sir Jon brings decades of experience in the delivery of major projects to the role alongside world-class leadership experience having previously served as the Permanent Secretary at both the Ministry of Defence and HM Revenue and Customs.
Charity Commission announces statutory inquiry into Burke’s Peerage Foundation
Press release
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Burke’s Peerage Foundation over concerns about the charity, including its financial management.
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The charity was established to advance education in the subject of genealogy and personal heritage.
The Commission has been in contact with the trustees since February 2022 after a separate inquiry into another charity, The Mahfouz Foundation, identified links with Burke’s Peerage Foundation.
A review of the charity’s bank statements and a comparison against its published accounts has resulted in the Commission’s decision to escalate its engagement with the charity to an inquiry. The inquiry will examine:
- The extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in the administration, governance and management of the charity.
- The charity’s compliance with its legal obligations for the preparation and filing of its accounts and annual returns.
The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional issues emerge.
It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.
Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
Published 9 March 2022
Together We Can Revolutionise The NHS, Through Individual Responsibility
When the NHS was launched in 1948, the first NHS pamphlet that landed on people’s doorsteps said of the new health service: “It’s not a charity. You’re paying for it, mainly as taxpayers”. We certainly do pay for it. This year, the NHS will spend its original 1948 budget, adjusted for inflation, once every month. Our health budget is now bigger than the GDP of Greece.
Health needs the revolution that has already come to other sectors like banking and shopping. With much greater patient choice, innovation, tech and AI – meaning more convenience, lower costs and reduced health disparities.
On Tuesday, in an address at the Royal College of Physicians, I made the case for a programme of comprehensive reform, because we can’t just keep pumping more and more money into healthcare. My vision for reform will start what will be one of the most significant transfers of power and funding from the state to individuals and their families in decades.
[Political content removed] I firmly believe in individual responsibility, which is why we need to do so much more on prevention and personalisation. The NHS spends vast sums treating people whose conditions are avoidable, and by some estimates 40 per cent of its costs go on treating preventable conditions. Tackling this is the only way we can reduce the demand on the health service, and the state, in the long-term.
That means helping the whole population to stay healthy, and not just treating those who show up asking for help. We will put the full power of the NHS behind prevention – including the NHS budget. We must also keep adopting new approaches to health and care, like our network of community diagnostics centres, which have been helping millions of patients benefit from earlier diagnostics closer to home, without ever having to set foot in a hospital.
This includes making the most of the huge digital adoption that we’ve seen throughout the pandemic. Over half of adults in England are now carrying the NHS App around in their pockets – I want to get this number higher, so we can use the app, and other tools like this, to give people personalised advice to manage their own health.
We know that when healthcare is personalised, built around the person and their family, it works better. My Dad was a smoker, and I remember standing at the top of the staircase overhearing my Mum confront him, saying: “If you die, your boys won’t have a Dad”. He never smoked again.
We all need more power to determine our own health, and I want to put more power in the hands of patients and their loved ones.
I know that people really value the freedom and choice that comes with personalised care and the personal budgets that give patients and their families more control and choice. Although we have a current target for 200,000 people to have a personal health budget by 2024, I want to see a significant expansion of this in the coming years.
Personalisation is also about recognising that the NHS is not just an end itself, it’s a service for every person who relies on it. So we will ensure that the voices of patients and their families are listened to continuously, not just when things go wrong.
We will offer patients ‘the right to choose’
As well as a greater voice, we must bring greater choice too. I know that one area of frustration has been long waits, due to the backlog that Covid has brought with it. We will be making a new offer, offering long-waiters the “right to choose” – with these patients being proactively contacted to discuss alternatives. This could be a trust nearby, a trust that’s further away – together with support for transport and accommodation – or going to the independent sector for treatment.
Prevention and personalisation will put our health service on a stronger and more sustainable footing in the future, but driving improved performance across the NHS itself must start now.
In some areas, such as affordable drugs and accessible care, our delivery is among the best in the world. But if we’re honest, in other areas – like cancer survival, cardiovascular disease, and maternal health outcomes – we all know the NHS must do better.
We are going to build on the digital transformation that we have seen throughout the pandemic, and make sure that innovative solutions don’t just stay where they are, but go far and wide. That’s why I want to explore what more NHS trusts can do by working in partnerships for reform, what they could do with greater freedoms, and how we can help them to share the brilliant work they are doing.
These plans mark the starting point for reform, not the sum total, but they show how we will seize the moment to keep the dream of 1948 alive. The shock of Covid and the urgent need for recovery has brought us to this crossroads right now. We have a once in a generation chance to reimagine how we do health – let’s seize it.